Mary Rice Hasson
Director, Catholic Women's Forum
Mary Rice Hasson, J.D., is the Kate O’Beirne Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. She directs the Catholic Women’s Forum, a network of Catholic professional women and scholars, and co-founded the Person and Identity Project, a new initiative that equips parents and faith-based institutions to counter gender ideology and promote the truth of the human person. An attorney and policy expert, Mary served as the keynote speaker for the Holy See during the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, addressing education (2018), women and work (2017), caregiving (2019), and gender ideology (2019). She currently serves as a consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family, Life and Youth.
Mary speaks frequently in national and international venues on topics related to gender ideology, parental rights, religious liberty, and culture. She is frequently called upon to provide expert counsel on federal and state legislation and, in 2021, testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee against the Equality Act and before the Australian Parliament, New South Wales, in support of parental rights legislation.
She has co-authored several books on education, including Get Out Now: Why You Should Pull Your Child From Public School Before It’s Too Late (Regnery 2018), and her writing has appeared in a variety of policy journals, scholarly publications, and traditional media including The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, First Things, National Review Online, and the National Catholic Register, among others. She is a frequent media commentator in both religious and secular media.
A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Notre Dame Law School, Mary and her husband Seamus Hasson have seven grown children and two grandchildren.
A note about the Person and Identity Project (PIP): The Person and Identity Project aims to equip parents and faith-based institutions with the facts, resources, and expertise to promote an authentic vision of the human person and to counter gender ideology. PIP experts speak, write, and conduct workshops on gender ideology for churches, schools, parents, and faith-based organizations. See personandidentity.com
A note about the Catholic Women’s Forum: The Catholic Women’s Forum takes its inspiration from Pope St. John Paul II, who wrote that women have “the task of assuring the moral dimension of culture…a culture worthy of the person,” (Christifideles Laici, 51). The Catholic Women’s Forum provides a network for Catholic women scholars seeking fellowship and to influence the culture, and offers a forum for Catholic women to share faith, inspiration, and resources. See catholicwomensforum.org.
Recent publications: Appellate brief in the 9th Circuit supporting challenge to Washington law effectively mandating “affirmation only” therapy for minors, December 16, 2021. “Bringing the Christ of Christmas to a Lost Generation,” Legatus Magazine, Dec 1, 2021 “Erasing Females in Language and Law,” Journal of Christian Legal Thought, Christian Legal Society, Oct. 21, 2021. “Is It Emotional Abuse For Parents To Deny A Child’s Transgender Claims?” National Review Online, October 17, 2021. “Time for an Exodus from Public Schools?” Our Catholic Mission, Cardinal Newman Society, October 8, 2021. “The Equality Act and the End of Females,” Newsweek, February 24, 2021. “The Pope is Catholic After All,” co-author with Tim Busch, The Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2020.
Books and Book Chapters: Chapter author, “Sexual Identity, Gender Ideology, and Religious Freedom: The Tug of War over ‘Who We Are,’ – Schools as Battlegrounds,” in the Handbook of Church and State, Shannon Holzer, ed. (New York, NY: Palgrave, expected publication fall 2022) Co-author, with Theresa Farnan, PhD, of Get Out Now: Why You Should Pull Your Child From Public School Before It’s Too Late (Regnery: 2018) Chapter author, “What About Sex: Habits of Heart for a Fulfilling Sexual Relationship and a Happy Marriage,” in Venus and Virtue: Celebrating Sex and Seeking Sanctification (2018). Editor, Promise and Challenge: Catholic Women Reflect on Feminism, Complementarity, and the Church (Our Sunday Visitor: 2015) Co-author, with Michele Hill, of the report, What Catholic Women Think About Faith, Conscience, and Contraception (EPPC 2012) Co-author, with Kimberly Hahn of Catholic Education: Homeward Bound (Ignatius Press: 1996).
Selected Presentations and Interviews: